The National Highways Authority of India has issued a Letter of Award for the four-laning of the Gudebellur to Mahabubnagar section of National Highway 167 in Telangana. The project has been awarded to M/s KNR Constructions Limited for an amount of Rs 17,340 million (mn) on Hybrid Annuity Mode. The 80 km project forms part of the Hyderabad–Panaji Economic Corridor and received approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in February 2026.

The implementation scope comprises construction of five major bridges, 36 minor bridges and 260 culverts. It also includes 11 vehicular underpasses, 22 low-volume underpasses and one road overbridge or road underbridge to improve grade separation. The scheme provides service roads totalling 48 km and a 56 km slip road to enhance local access.

The Gudebellur–Mahabubnagar stretch currently suffers from significant travel delays, particularly through densely populated towns and villages such as Gudebellur, Magnoor, Makthal, Marikal, Devarkadra, Jaklair, Yeligandla and Banderpally. The upgrade to a four-lane standard is expected to ease traffic bottlenecks, improve road safety and ensure smoother freight and passenger movement. The project is also planned to strengthen multimodal integration by linking three PM Gati Shakti economic nodes, nine social nodes and seven logistics nodes and to improve access to Hyderabad's industrial and commercial centres.

Improved connectivity is expected to benefit the Hyderabad–Bengaluru NICDC corridor, pharmaceutical and medical clusters and Special Economic Zones (SEZs), while supporting regional commerce. The four-lane National Highway will connect major centres including Mahabubnagar, Narayanpet, Raichur, Devarkadra, Makthal and Hyderabad and will facilitate access to religious and tourist destinations across the region. Authorities said the project will ease freight movement, reduce travel times and support economic linkages between urban and rural nodes.